


the spies from scoops

by hoppnhorn



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Pre-Harringrove
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27712648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoppnhorn/pseuds/hoppnhorn
Summary: What if Billy worked at Scoops instead of Robin?
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 29
Kudos: 331





	the spies from scoops

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if there was ever a plan to have Billy alongside Steve in season 3 vs Robin (I love Robin don't get me wrong here) but I always wondered how the dynamic would have been different. And of course, how Harringrove could have been so easily injected.
> 
> I did not proof read this, apologies.

Steve is really _fucking_ tired of getting punched. 

It seems like whenever things go downhill, it’s his face that takes the beating. From Jonathan, then Billy, and now some Russians in a secret lair under the _mall_. 

He’s not sure how this always happens. 

At least this time he’s not alone. Billy’s getting it just as good as he is, but seems to be more _gleeful_ about the whole thing. For once, Billy’s on _his_ side and Steve had been hopeful it’d be enough to get them out of things. 

Wrong. 

They’re bound now; it’s not like Billy can hit back. But they’d put up a good fight before guns had been pressed to their heads. Then it’d been fists in his face. Over and over. 

_Who do you work for?_

Punch. 

He’s seriously _quitting_ Scoops if he lives through this. 

All the while, Billy is laughing. Billy’s always fucking laughing at the worst times, so it’s really no surprise. It’s a little sharper than normal though. A little deadly as Billy _screeches my dad hits harder than you pussies_. Until, well.

Steve’s consciousness is flipped like a switch. 

Out. 

He’s only ever been knocked out once, by Billy _ironically_ , but coming back this time is different. No kids yammering around him. It’s like he’s underwater, clawing to come up for air; a slow burn, scrambling for the surface to breathe and—

“HARRINGTON.” 

Billy’s voice is cracked and ground down like a rough stone, grating in the back of Steve’s skull as he coughs. Takes in that lungful of precious consciousness. 

“Dude.” He grunts, his head throbbing with pain. His _jaw_ . The assholes had really laid into his fucking _mouth._ “Do you ever shut up?” He mutters. There’s no bite to his words, really. He can’t muster the anger under all the pain. 

Billy’s head falls back against Steve’s neck, a sigh slicing between them.

“Jesus, it’s good to hear your voice, pretty boy.” Billy whispers. Panting. Breathless. “I thought for sure you were…” 

The silence says the rest. 

“Can’t get rid of me that easy.” Steve mutters. “I’m a pro at being _punched in the face._ ” Billy’s laugh vibrates through his back, against Steve’s spine. 

For a moment, they just sit together, back to back, breathing steady. The room is so empty their reflections nearly gleam back at them on the walls. So lifeless. 

“They think we're the government.” Billy says eventually, shuffling his weight in the chair. “If we don’t come up with a plan or something—“

“We’re tied up in a Russian base miles underground.” Steve mutters. “What plan is gonna get us out of this?” 

“So we wait for them to kill us? Fuck that.” Billy yanks on their shared bonds, pulling Steve backwards with a graceless grunt. “Fuck this. Fuck _them_.” Billy struggles harder and Steve drops his head to his chest. 

The kids got away at least. That’s what he tells himself over and over as crippling fear turns his insides to ice. The _kids_ will make it. 

“We’re getting out of here, Harrington. You hear me?” Billy shakes him and Steve breathes deep. Exhales. 

“Yeah, okay.” 

  
  
  


They’ve only just figured out how to move their bound chairs towards the side of the room when the door opens and their hopes are dashed. Steve thrashes against his bonds when the older man, ugly and sneering with malice, directs a doctor with a jut of his chin. 

Then the guy is coming at Steve with a needle that makes his skin crawl. He hears when they inject Billy, his bellow of anger practically rattling Steve’s bones. 

But when they come for him, Steve goes quietly. Tries not to scream as the needle pierces his throat. 

  
  
  


It’s a lot like floating. The high. 

Steve’s been high plenty of times to know that’s what he is, but it’s not like the other times. He’s forgetting how he _got there_ , why he needs to worry about getting away. 

“Pretty boy?” Billy says with a voice too soft. Too gentle. “You feelin this?” 

“Ooooh yeah.” He lets his head lull back, rest on Billy’s shoulder. “California dreamin.” 

Billy snorts, without a hint of anger. 

“Huh?” 

“You’re California dreamin.” Steve laughs because it’s _funny_. Somehow. “Malibu Barbie.”

“Fuck.” Billy laughs at him. “You’re high as hell.” Billy snorts. “Shit, so am I.” 

“We’re fucked aren’t we?” Steve laughs, still somehow unfazed by the thought. The urgency in his mind has bleed from his body, leaving him sedated and giggling. 

“Yup.” Billy pops the p and they both crack up, heads lulling against each other. “They’re gonna kill us down here.”

“Fuck.” Steve manages a small laugh before his mind wanders. To Dustin. Erica. “At least the kids got away.”

“Yeah, that was good.” Billy shifts against Steve’s back, his head settling on his shoulder. “You were brave, telling them to go.”

“What?” It’s frustrating that he can’t _see_ anything when Billy lets out a sigh, rubbing his curls against Steve’s neck. 

“You’re like those comic book heroes, standing in front of the door so the kids could run.” Billy mumbles, his voice so soft. So calm, the gentlest Steve’s ever heard him. Like he’s drifting off to sleep. 

“You stayed too.” Steve answers, turning his head to try and look at Billy’s face. All he gets is a face full of curls. But he doesn’t mind. Billy’s hair smells nice, and is so soft against his cheek. 

“Only because you did.” Billy whispers. “I wouldn’t leave you for anything, pretty boy.” 

The words smooth down Steve’s throat like syrup, warm and sweet and pooling in his stomach. 

“Why?” He breathes into Billy’s hair. Soft from hours of no hairspray to keep it tame. They both probably need a shower and a new hairdo but. Steve can’t bring himself to care as he settles his face closer to Billy’s. 

“I’m a sucker for a dumb, pretty face.” Billy almost sing-songs at him. “And you’re so _dumb_ , Harrington.”

“Fuck you.” Steve snorts. Nothing too annoyed. He’s not _bright_ , but he’s also not the one who figured out how to crack a Russian coded message. He doesn’t hate watching Billy casually flaunt his intelligence. “You’re smart _and_ hot, we _get it_.” He mutters. 

“What?” Billy slurs, nearly into Steve’s ear.

“What?” Steve says back, not even sure if he’s said anything. Had he?

“You just said I’m hot, pretty boy.” Billy whispers. 

Had he?

“You call me pretty all the time, you know you’re _hot_ .” Steve murmurs, staring at the ceiling while his face heats at the cheeks. He’s too loose to be tense but he can feel Billy’s curls on his skin and the warmth of his head. He’s _close_. It’s, almost too much. 

“I told you I’m a sucker for you, Harrington. Don’t tease.” Billy purrs. “You tellin’ me you’re _interested_?” 

And suddenly. 

Well.

It’s different. 

Steve turns his head, gets a glance of Billy’s eyes. Brilliant blue. Wide. 

“Yeah, guess I am.” 

Billy’s expression goes stock still, his eyes shimmering in the light. And then he’s yanking on their binds. 

“Fuck this, we’re getting out of here. I am not going to die before I get a piece of you.”

Steve can’t help it, he giggles. Just a little, watching Billy kick in his chair. 

“Can’t die a virgin?” He teases. And Billy’s stare is scalding. 

“Can’t die without one kiss from the boy of my dreams.” He says. So serious it makes Steve’s hair stand on end. 

Just before the door opens. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really just want Dustin yelling at them to stop making out in the back of the little cart they steal. Because, let's face it, Billy wouldn't care if they had an audience. He'd be all over Steve like a pig on mud. 
> 
> "THIS IS NO TIME FOR KISSING"


End file.
